Yorkshire: JRM preview

JRM aims for Teams' title in final round of British Rally Championship

This weekend's Trackrod Rally Yorkshire, the final round of the 2010 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, will see JRM mount a final push for the British Teams' title. Concluding a successful season, Gwyndaf Evans will drive JRM's lead Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, whilst - as announced two weeks ago - talented youngster Alastair Fisher will play a supporting role in JRM's 'National' specification car.

With this the last event of the season, organisers have deemed that competitors will score one-and-a-half times the usual number of points. As such, there will be 30 points allocated for a win, rather than the usual 20.

Taking these points in account, in addition to the Teams' title, Evans is also in with a mathematical chance of claiming the Drivers' crown. However, if Jonny Greer, Keith Cronin and Jason Pritchard -who are ahead of him in the standings - all have a good run, his hopes of securing a second British title will be over.

After an outstanding performance so far this year in his own Mitsubishi Evolution IX, Fisher was invited to join the JRM team to demonstrate the potential of its new 'National' specification car. Although not as high-spec as the Mitsubishi Evans will be driving, the team predicts that he will still be quick and has the potential to win the event outright.

Evans will be co-driven this weekend by Claire Mole, who previously partnered him in the early-to-mid 2000s in the works MG S1600. Fisher will be joined by his regular co-driver Rory Kennedy.

Both Evans and Fisher will test their cars on Wednesday (22nd September) at a location in the North West. This will be the first time since winning the Pirelli Rally in April Evans has driven his car on gravel, whereas for Fisher, this will be his inaugural taste of the JRM Evolution X.

The Trackrod Rally Yorkshire is based in Scarborough this year, with all of its 85-mile competitive route and nine stages taking place in the forests over the North Yorkshire Moors. The action gets underway at 7.00pm on Friday evening with one stage in Langdale Forest. This is followed by a further eight stages on Saturday before the finish in Scarborough at around 6.00 that evening.

Team Quotes

Gwyndaf Evans

"If it wasn't for the non-finish at the start of the year in Wales and the accident last month in Ulster, I would be in a great position to challenge for the Drivers' title", explained Evans. "There's still a slim chance, but this weekend the goal really will be to secure the Teams' title. JRM have put a lot into this season and therefore it would be great if we can achieve this. The whole team deserves it."

Alastair Fisher

"I'm really looking forward to driving the JRM car this weekend. It will be the first time I've driven an Evo X in competition and the first time I've worked with a team such as JRM. It's going to be a great experience and I hope to do deliver the best result I can to help them win the Teams' award."

John Barnes - Team Manager

"Even though its going to take a lot of luck to win the Drivers' title, it would be good to get a third win under our belts this season. However, we have to get both cars to the finish to keep us in the frame for the Teams' title, so we can't afford to take any chances. I am also very interested to see how Alastair performs in our new 'National' spec car and will be watching his progress closely."

James Rumsey - Team Principal

"It will be great if we come away with the Teams' title this weekend. It would have been good to be competing for the Drivers' title as well, but our focus will be to get both cars home in high points-scoring positions."

-source: jrm